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Tuesday, 2 April 2013

Unspoken (The Lynburn Legacy #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan

Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return.

The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

FINAL RATING: ★★★★★/★★★★★

This was so sooooooooo good. I loved every part of it. Since i couldn't decide between 4 and 5 i decided it was going to be between. And it is only because i am type that craves for explanations and i didn't find enough of them in this book. For now, it is staying 5 stars as basic rating, because i feel it didn't belong with standard books.

I wanted to read it because it was written by Brennan. I loved her Demon's lexicon trilogy, and guess what, i love Unspoken even more! I love her sense of humor and her writing style! The book made me laugh so many times, i almost fell from the chair once. Also, it was deeply emotional, especially when looking from Jared's POV.

There was never part that bore me, and i liked that. I loved that it was from alternating pov and in third person. It always makes story more believable to me (i don't like being in people's heads, aka, first person point, or narration).

I found that a little creepy. So we have mysterious family, who were once rulers of the city. Now they are coming back after many many years.

I was wondering what was wrong with the family. I even thought they might be vampires. Guess what, they aren't. Mwahahaha. They wouldn't walk on the sun if they were and they certainly didn't sparkle.

CHARACTERS:

♦ Kami:

Kami was soooooo cool. I loved her. And she was interesting and funny. She shares mental connection with Jared, her imaginary friend, who guess what, goes in package with Lynburns. She thought she made him up, until she went into the elevator with him. That is when they both understood that they were in fact real people. I love her courage, and the fact that she was willing to investigate Lynburns and the town in general, even breaking into the offices and taking documents. Wow. She even has friends who will help her, and she is not miss popular type everybody must love me. She is just normal with voice in her head.

“If I wasn't going to be a world-famous journalist and if I didn't have such respect for truth and justice, I could be an amazing master criminal.”

I especially loved the part where she fell in the well, and Jared went to rescue her(I laughed soooo soooooooooo much):

“Honestly, Jared, one thing at a time. Why are you in the well with me? This is a really bad rescue!”
“You lost consciousness and slipped under the surface of the water!” Jared pointed out. “There was no time.”
“But now we’re both trapped! Now we’re both going to die!”
“No, we’re not,” said Jared. “I called the police as I was running to the well. I’m sure they’re coming.”
“Did they say they were coming?” Kami asked suspiciously. “Or did you shout ‘Kami’s in the well!’ and then jump in the well too, thus losing your phone and making sure that the police think it was some kids playing a dumb joke?”
Jared paused. He was breathing quickly, the dreamy part of Kami noticed, his chest rising and falling hard. She wasn’t sure if it was because he’d had to run so fast, because he’d had to dive to grab her, or if it was panic.
“Alternate plan,” Jared said. “Do you have a very intelligent collie who might communicate through a system of barks to your parents that little Kami is in the well?”
Kami closed her eyes and leaned her cheek against the wet planes of Jared’s collarbone.
“We’re going to die.” Something else dawned on her. “And where is your shirt?”
“Let me explain,” said Jared. “I had just gone to bed, like a reasonable person, when you decided to get tossed into a well like a crazy person. And then it was a matter of some urgency to reach you. You’re lucky I tripped over my jeans on the way out the door.”

♦ Jared:

I loved him. I understand him too. His father is dead, and his mother is the one who even blamed the fault on him. He was in fact, an outcast of the family, because his mother was never meant to marry his father. He is so so devastated that he has no one, while he has family. His sadness and closing to the world are especially shown in "The Spring Before I Met You", where the only person who would talk to him was his imaginary friend Kami. Who was real person. Since he didn't have proper relationship with people, he often confused his feelings with something they are not. There was scene when his family went to dance in the rain, and he started to lose it, while Kami tried to give him support; I loved how she was always there for him, always taking his side.

“Listen to me. I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know what any of this means. But I know this much. It doesn’t matter. You’re not one of them. You never were. You’re not theirs. You’re mine.”

OVERALL:

I loved the story in general. There were always funny moments, and always emotional ones. I loved the mystery, the killings and the Lynburns. It was interesting that the most of the things was explained in so-so logical way. I loved loved loved especially the scene with the wall between them. I loved that moment, and i think it was one of the best in the book.

There was a wall between them, but the wall of silence in Jared’s head wasn’t there anymore. Kami still did not quite dare to come to the place where their minds met, for fear of being shut out again. She skirted the edge of what he was feeling, and stretched out her hand so he could see it on his side of the stone wall.
After a moment, she felt the brush of Jared’s fingers against hers. The light touch of skin on skin made electricity crackle through her blood so that it burned and stung in her veins.
She had never been so aware of anyone in her life, or so uncomfortable.
Jared’s hand closed around hers, their fingers linking. From a careful touch of fingertips,they were suddenly both clinging as if the other had fallen off a cliff and they had to keep hold or risk them slipping away. Jared’s hand was a lot bigger than Kami’s, fingers callused.
It was just a boy’s hand, blood and flesh and bone, she told herself fiercely. It wasn’t such a big deal.